Mind the Gap! Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Tube with The Park Lane Hotel’s London Underground Afternoon Tea

To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the world’s first underground train system, The Park Lane Hotel in London has created a very special London Underground Afternoon Tea.  Available from 9^th January to 10^th February 2013, the London Underground Afternoon Tea will take guests on a culinary journey around the world-famous tube network.

Tea time: the Park Lane Hotel's homage to the Tube

 The first London underground journey took place on 9^th January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon on the Metropolitan Railway.  To mark the anniversary of this momentous occasion, The Park Lane Hotel’s award-winning Pastry Chef, Sarah Hartnett, has created an exceptional Afternoon Tea menu which will be served in the exquisite setting of the Palm Court, The Park Lane Hotel’s famed Art Deco lounge.

   On arrival, guests will be greeted with a Metropolitan 1863 cocktail – a delicious blend of Beefeater 24 gin and blackcurrant tea.  Now produced in a distillery nearby Kennington Station, Beefeater gin was founded by James Burrough who bought his first London distillery in 1863 – the same year the London Underground was born.

   A selection of five sandwiches and savouries are then served, each designed to honour a different element of the Underground.  These include a ‘London Bridge’ roll with egg, crème fraîche, sun-blushed tomatoes and rocket; warm leek, asparagus and double ‘Gloucester Road’ tart; saffron ‘Circle and District Line’ roulade with coronation chicken and spinach and mini ‘Royal Oak’-smoked salmon bagels.  With their hollow centres, guests will definitely need to mind the gap!

   Towers of homemade plain and fruit scones will follow, complemented by ‘Limehouse’ Curd and ‘Victoria Plum’ Jam and clotted cream.  Finally, guests will be presented with a selection of London Underground pastries, working their way around the tube map.  The first stop will be Bank for hazelnut Pound Cake, followed by Victoria for orange Victoria sponge and Paddington for honey, lemon and pistachio cake (yellow and green for the Circle and District lines with more honey to keep Paddington Bear happy!).  The final culinary destination will be a white chocolate oreo Swiss ‘Roll’ Cottage!

   The Palm Court lounge is confident that guests will experience a good service during the Afternoon Tea but they should be on the look-out for any delays or planned engineering works. 

   The London Underground Afternoon Tea at The Park Lane Hotel will be served from 9^th January to 10^th February 2013 (3pm-6pm on weekdays and 2pm-6pm at weekends) in The Palm Court and costs £41 per person.  Bookings must be made in advance.

   For more information, visit www.palmcourtlondon.co.uk/london-underground-afternoon-tea.  To book, call The Palm Court on 0207 290 7328.